how to use a and the basic grammar rule

1. Tricky Grammar - part 1
Mcenroe ng

2. Noun
describe
People Places Things
Let’s recap!

3. Examples
• The teacher teaches at China-Town.
• The kids are learning Chinese and English
• The artist drew beautiful flowers.

4. 2 types of Noun
1. Countable – can be describe with numbers
-for more than one, then we have to use pural forms
(s, es, ies)
2. Non- countable - cannot be describes with number

5. Rules for plurals – countable noun
Vowels (v) = A, E, I, O, U
Consonants (C)= all the other letters
1. Add s etc: ants, tables, cars, seasons
2. (V)+y= s etc: essays, buys, boys, keys, toys
3. (V)+ o= s etc: zoos videos
4. C+ y=ies etc: libraries, countries, babies , ladies
5. Sh, ch, ss, x = es etc: boxes, buses, matches, taxes
6. C+o=es etc: heroes, potatoes, seroes

6. Irregular plurals
• Does not follow the common rules
1. Child- children
2. Man- men
3. Woman- women
4. Mouse- mice
5. Foot- feet

7. Non count nouns
• Rice – very small
• Air- gass
• Chemistry –studies
• Furniture – the whole of a group
• Soccer – activities
• Happiness – abstract idea
• Cancer, diabetes – diseases

8. Countable and non countable rules
Countable
Singular
verbs
Plural
verb
Uncountable
Singular
verb

9. Examples of error
• I found informations on the books.
- Noncountable
- Only singular, do not take S/ES
Correct: I found information on the books.

10. Examples of error
• We need to buy a new luggage for the camp
- Noncountable
- Using A/AN with non countable noun
Correct: We need to buy new luggage for the camp

11. Examples of error
• Where is the binoculars?
- Paired nouns = two parts = plural noun needs plural verb
Etc: scissors, binoculars, tongs, glasses/spectacles, shoes, pants,
jeans, shorts
- Subject verb agreement – subject and verb must both be singular
or both plural
• Correct: Where are the binoculars?

12. Examples of error
• Where is the binoculars?
- Paired nouns = two parts = plural noun needs plural verb
Etc: scissors, binoculars, tongs, glasses/spectacles, shoes, pants,
jeans, shorts
- Subject verb agreement – subject and verb must both be singular
or both plural
• Correct: Where are the binoculars?

13. Examples of error
• James doesn’t have monies.
- Special use of usually non count noun
Etc: monies is normally use for international currenciesn in this case
james is just broke. So noncountable noun will be use.
• Correct: James doesn’t have money

14. Examples of error
• World news are important to know.
- News is happening
- Physics is a difficult subject
- Measles kills people everyday
*singular verbs*
• Correct: World news is important to know.

15. Examples of error
• The data is important.
*singular/plural*
- datum/data
- Criterion/criteria
- Phenomenon/phenomena
• Correct: The data are important.
Special *singular/plural*
Sheep/sheep
Shrimp/shrimp
Fish/fish

17. How to use a and an?
1) With singular and countable count nouns
A computer
An elephant

18. Adding “substances”
a/an adverb Adjective
Singular
count noun

19. Adding “substances”
a/an adverb Adjective Singular count noun
A computer
- An old computer
An elephant
- A very small elephant

20. How to use a and an?
2) Second, they are used when the speaker wants to give
general facts about a thing or a person.
i. A computer is much faster now compared to 20 years ago.
ii. An elephant has very big ears.

21. How to use a and an?
3) use indefinite articles to talk about things that aren't specific.
• For example, you can use a computer to write your report
For example, you can use a computer to write your report. Here, it doesn't
matter which computer you use. You can use this one, or this one, or this
one, any one of them is okay.
• When I went on a safari, I saw an elephant
Since the listener did not go on the safari, she or he doesn't know the
elephant that I saw. In his or her mind, the image of the elephant is not
the same as mine. But that doesn't matter, because I am just saying that I
saw one.

22. How to use a and an?
4) indefinite articles to introduce something for the first time
• Today, I designed a bottle in class.
-My friend has not heard me talk about the bottle before. She is
hearing about it for the first time.

23. Review.
1. Indefinite articles are used with singular count nouns
2. to give general facts
3. to talk about non-specific things
4. to introduce something for the first time

24. 2) How to use a and an? Null articles
2) Second, they are used when the speaker wants to give general facts
about a thing or a person.
i. A computer is much faster now compared to 20 years ago.
Computers are much faster now compared to 20 years ago
ii. An elephant has very big ears.
Elephants have very big ears
*plural is a way to give facts*

25. 3) To talk about things that aren’t specific
• Do you have apples?
• Do you have bananas?

26. To talk about specific things
• A and an do not work with non-count nouns.
• non-count nouns: Milk and cheese
• “The” does work with specific non count noun and specific count
nouns
• Has anyone eaten the cheese in the fridge yet? – specific cheese

27. Non count noun – talk about general things
• There is non articles
• For example there is no plural with milk and cheese
1. Milk contains a lot of calcium and is good for your bones
2. Cheese is often found in western salads

28. 4) Introduce something for the first time
• When I went on a safari I saw an elephant. The
elephant was drinking water from a river. The river's
water seemed very dirty. I also saw cheetahs (plural count
noun- no article)running after a zebra. I tried to run and get a
picture of the cheetahs, but I fell and dirt(non count noun-
no article) got all over my pants. I went to the river and tried to
wash off the dirt, but it wouldn't come off. It got dirtier.

29. Mistakes with Articles

30. “The” vs “no article”
• Using “the” when it’s not necessary
• Not using “the” when it is necessary.

31. Unique
Location
related
Country
related
Time
related

32. Unique things
• The sun is shining brightly.
• I can't see the moon tonight.
• Scientists have been searching for other life forms in the universe.
• In a forest, the air is much cleaner.
-there is one sun, one moon, one universe, one sky and so on. Yes,
it's possible that there are more universe's, world's, sun's, or moon's
out there but for most of us when we talk, we are generally
referring to things in our own universe.

33. Unique things
• Shade
Let's stand in the shade. It's possible that there are many area
of shade near us
However, in this case, it doesn't matter which shaded area we
choose. Anywhere is fine, as long as it has shade. We don't use a
sentence like There is a shade, even though it is not specific.

34. “The world” VS “A world”
• *World is a tricky one in many cases, the article is the.
• Native english speakers often use “the world” in sentences.
• For example:
1. Russia is the biggest country in the world.
2. The world is changing rapidly.

35. “The world” VS “A world”
• However, it is possible to use “a world” too.
1. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to worry about war or
disease.
2. We want to create a better world for the next generation.
• For these two sentences, there is a feeling of more than one
world. We are not talking about the world we live in now. We are
talking about a place or environment that we dream about. In that
case, it is appropriate to use a.

36. Country names, currency
• For most countries, there is no article before the name of the
country
• There are, however, some countries that require “The” before it.
- The United States, The United Kingdom, The Philippines, The
Netherlands, The United Arab Emirates and the Czech Republic.
• when you are referring to a country's currency or money, also use
the before the name of the currency.
- For example, the dollar, the yen, the euro, the pound, the won,
the yuan, the real, the riyal, the peso.

37. “Language” (no article) VS “the _ _ _ _
language”
• When you are referring to the name of a language, you do not
need to use an article.
1. This boy speaks Portuguese.
2. This girl speaks German.
3. This woman speaks Korean.
• Portuguese, German, and Korean are nouns here.

38. “Language” (no article) VS “the _ _ _ _
language”
• However, the rules change if you add the word language after the name
of the language.
• If you use this pattern, you must add "the" before.
1. The Portuguese language
2. the Korean language
3. the German language.
• Notice here, Portuguese, Korean, and German act as adjectives.

39. Location- related thing
1) names of oceans, seas, and rivers come after the.
• The Pacific Ocean,
• The Caspian Sea,
• The Amazon River.
On the other hand, lakes and waterfalls generally do not have the before
it.
• Lake Lugano
• Niagara Falls.

40. Location- related thing
2) Mountain ranges use the.
1. The Alps
2. The Canadian Rockies.
Notice is mountain ranges and not a mountain.
If it is just one mountain,
1. Mount Everest
2. Mount Kilimanjaro
there is no article before

41. Location- related thing
3) deserts.
Deserts use the.
1. The Sahara Desert,
2. the Gobi Desert.
4) specific regions often use the.
1. The Middle East,
2. the Balkans

42. Location- related thing
• What's the difference between saying I am
going to the South versus I am going south?
• In the first sentence it has the, which emphasizes a specific area in
southern United States.
• However, in the second sentence, is just saying that I am going in the
direction of south.
• It is not a specific area.
• In the second sentence there is no article before south.

43. Time-related events.
• I love Chinese New Year. When I was growing up in the 1990s, I
often went to Chinatown to buy Chinese New year goodies. Every
year the start date changes because of the lunar calendar. One
year it was on February 14th. This past year, it was on the 8th of
February. I hope it is never on Friday the 13th. That's an unlucky
day.

44. Time-related events.
• Do not use an article before the name of a holiday
• Next is time periods. When you're talking about a period of time
like a decade or a specific time of importance, add the. The
1960s, the 1980s, the 90s, or the Renaissance Period, the Middle
Ages, the Information Age.

45. Time-related events.
• There are three sentences related to dates.
• One year, it was on February 14th.
• This past year, it was on the 8th of February.
• I hope it is never on Friday the 13th.
• We have months, we have day of the week. Finally, we have
ordinal numbers.
• s you noticed, two sentences include “the” before the ordinal
number, one sentence doesn't.

46. Quantifiers

47. Quantifiers
• meaning they answer the questions how much or how many.
• Numbers express exact quantities, right?
• However, quantifiers express inexact quantities.
• An example:
• When I visited my aunt's farm, I saw one cow, two goats, several horses,
and many chickens. The words one and two gives us exact quantities.
• However, the words several and many give us some idea of the
quantities, but they're inexact. These are examples of what we call
quantifiers.

48. Quantifiers
• Quantifiers go before nouns, before the nouns that they mark.
- My aunt also had some pigs.
- some is the quantifier, pigs is the noun.

50. Quantifiers for both count nouns and non
count noun

51. Quantifiers for both count nouns
• James won a lot of money.
• When you use this phrase, don't forget the a, a lot of. That's a
common mistake.
• He plans to do lots of traveling from now on.
• Lots of is the plural form. (lots of is more informal than a lot of)

52. Quantifiers for both count nouns
• There is plenty of meat here for one person.
• Plenty of means more than necessary.
• Example: There are plenty of colors to choose from.
• Small quantities can be expressed using some.
Example:
1. There are some dogs in that car.
2. I could really use some coffee. Some is a very useful quantifier.

53. Quantifiers for both count nouns
• Then there are other quantifiers, such as no.
• There is no traffic right now.
• Look at that sign. No animals are allowed inside this restaurant.
• Any is another very common quantifier, but it's a little more difficult to use.
Remember to use it in negative statements or question form.
Example:
• I do not have any furniture yet.
• Notice that the not makes this statement negative.
• Let's take a look at a question. Will you get any curtains for your windows?
• I'm not planning on getting any curtains since the trees give enough privacy"

54. Quantifiers for both count nouns
• Any actually can be used in some affirmative statements if it is used correctly, meaning you
add the correct words barely or hardly before any.
• There is (barely/ hardly) any room on this train.
• Another quantity is all. Like all babies are beautiful, and almost all of the windows are closed.
• Obviously, almost all is not the same as all. But what it means is close to all.
• Most.
• Most Americans have a college education. Close to 60% have attended a university or two-year
college.
• Most just means more than 50%.
• Enough.
• I have enough cash to pay. Enough just means that you have the amount that you need.

55. Quantifiers for only count nouns

56. Quantifiers for only count nouns

57. Quantifiers for only count nouns

58. Quantifiers for non count nouns

59. Quantifiers for non count nouns

60. Reference
• University of California, Irvine
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